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Monday, April 10, 2017

Faces in the Crowd

Deus caritas est! “…God is love.” 1 John 4:16
As we enter this season of reflection and renewal, let’s rediscover God calling to His children, revealing His goodness, and transforming each one with Perfect Love. "This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1 John 4:10) ~ Donna Oswalt

The temple God wants to be master of the human soul, which he created and fashioned just like himself. We read that God said, "Let us make man on our own image."... He made each soul so much like himself that nothing else in heaven or on earth resembles him as much... God wants the temple to be pure, so pure that nothing should dwell there except he himself. And that is the reason why he is so pleased when we really prepare our souls for him.  Meister Eckhart (1260-1327)

A growing crowd has followed Jesus these last weeks, watching and testifying to what they have witnessed - Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, many miracles of healing, parables and teachings. The religious leaders, struggling with supernatural possibility and personal pride, are threatened, fearing the crowd's allegiance to Jesus.

The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him." John 12:19 NKJV

The crowd, like the Pharisees, come with their own agendas. Some are caught up in the excitement of the moment, some looking for the extraordinary, and some skeptical but curious. The Pharisees think the crowd is foolish, but wants to find something to discredit Jesus' popularity. We are sometimes the crowd, watching, wondering, looking for more! We are sometimes like the Pharisees, cynical, doubting, expecting less! 

READ John 12:17-19

consider this!

- Picture yourself in the crowd. Who are you? What do you expect from Jesus?

- Consider yourself a Pharisee. What questions do you ask?

- How am I preparing my soul for the living Christ?

Holy Father! Prepare my soul for the journey it must take. Help me step away from the crowd to be with You, to listen for You, to feel You near. Take my cynicism and make it compassion. Take my doubt and make it trust. Take my soul to Your high places of blessing. Amen. -dho


All rights reserved; copyright 2017 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author;  Breathing Room For My Soul (blog)~ Follow on Twitter @soulchat

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